IOWA CITY, Iowa - Penn State’s flight back to State College would be, as head coach James Franklin described it, something akin to the movie “Soul Plane.”
“We will get a few hours to enjoy it. I’m looking forward to getting on the plane,” Franklin said. “We’ll be partying like ‘Soul Plane’ the whole way back to State College. Then we’ll hit the ground and get back to work.”
Winners of a hard-fought, drama-filled, 17-12 decision against the Hawkeyes Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium, the Nittany Lions earned their party-like atmosphere. Advancing to 6-0 on the season with a win, setting up next Saturday’s prime-time matchup against another Top 25 Michigan team - Penn State’s fourth prime-time game in its first seven contests of the season - the Nittany Lions are proving themselves to be a confident, feel-good bunch.
The vibes were decidedly less cheerful at other times through the course of a game that the Nittany Lions led for the final 38:36.
At the heart of Penn State’s displeasure, in spite of the win, a series of critical penalties and officials’ decisions played an outsized role in the game.
And the first question of Franklin’s postgame press conference, offered up from veteran reporter Rich Scarcella, gave the head coach the opportunity to address those concerns.
“Can you describe that series in the third quarter where your players appeared to cross the goal line three times? And did you get an explanation from John O’Neill on the reversal of Pat’s apparent touchdown?”
No.
“Can you describe what that whole scenario was? Have you ever been through such a scenario in your years of coaching?” =
Something between a smile and smirk grew across Franklin’s face through the duration of the question, but ultimately, the head coach settled on a resigned response.
“I’d love to do it. Trust me. I’d love to have a lengthy conversation about this. I know our fans want me to have a lengthy conversation about it,” Franklin said. “It’s not going to do any good. I’m going to enjoy the win. I’m going to focus on the things that we can control. And I get it, but I’m in a no-win situation here.”
Of course, Franklin had already set the table.
During a game in which his Nittany Lions entered as the nation’s fifth-least penalized team, averaging just 4.0 penalties in their first five outings, they wound up being assessed with eight penalties worth 80 yards. The host Hawkeyes, meanwhile, emerged from the game charged with just one penalty for five yards, though the Nittany Lions did decline one holding penalty that would have amounted to a 2-yard loss for the hosts as they were backed up against their end zone.
And, of course, to top it all off, a Pat Freiermuth 16-yard reception called as a touchdown on the field was reviewed via video and, in spite of evidence to the contrary, not only was not confirmed, but it was also overturned and called down on the half-yard line.
Collectively, in a post-game assessment Franklin typically provides, it created an oddity he declined to discuss further.
“We won the field position battle pretty dramatically, our own 34, their 18. The turnover battle, which we knew was going to be big, two to zero,” Franklin said. “You know, the thing that was really interesting is, one of the least penalized teams in the country. And we come in here tonight and didn't necessarily play out that way. I'll leave it at that. Five yards to 80 yards.”
Then, in a final aside before wrapping up the postgame
“And then you get into a situation where people have to take shots and they’re 50-50 balls and they’re either going to make a great catch or we’re going to make a great play, or, sometimes there’s a night where the other answer is an interference call.”
Pushing Iowa toward its end zone in the second quarter, a 9-yard sack of quarterback Nate Stanley by Jayson Oweh was mitigated by a holding call against Penn State senior cornerback John Reid. The play transformed a third-and-16 into a new-life first-and-10 for the Hawkeyes, which they ultimately turned into a field goal to close out the first half.
